identity design

haven’t shared any branding work lately, so in trying to be fair to all elements of the business here is a first round for Bardsley Investment that we presented last fall. In our design process for a branding package or logo design we like to present our initial round of proofs in black and white so there is not too many distractions when viewing concepts as well as spacial elements within the design.

Option 1: With the above set of logos we wanted to modernize the age old tradition of investment banking and update it with a modern and less Baroque/frilly stuffy look. By simplifying the “coat of arms” and giving it a more direct illustration and layout, we could see this potentially developing out into other other brands that Bardsley initiates. By translating the coat of arms into other brands the “B” would be replaced with more direct iconography that is relatable to each investment company that is under Bardsley.

The shield traditionally represents an outer cover, protection and obviously provides security. With the current downturn in the economy, we took that symbolism as a positive element and wanted to convey that with the branding to help further enhance the strength of the company and use that as it is at the top of the umbrella with all the other ventures branching out beneath it.

The typography is minimalist and juxtaposes bold and graduating weights with each word to emphasize the first of the business name as well as soften it out upon reading it across the length of the logo. Depending on how we use color value the logo and take it into the color and hue schemes – the business name versus the shield can play into how the brand translates across different business collateral.

Option 2: This option is strictly typographic. We wanted an option to present that was refined, elegant and forward thinking. We took a Roman typeface with emphasis on flared serifs to give it more fluidity. Paired with a minimalist post-modern typeface it brings together two genres of intrigue and marries them as a complimentary whole. The swash on the “y” is intended to fall into the “N” in “investment” as an afterthought of “dipping in” to other ventures. What I loved about Bardsley’s brief was that they had a varied portfolio which felt well rounded. By pairing the more traditional typeface with the post-modern it helps round out this feel that Bardsley will look beyond its portfolio for unique opportunities.

Option 3: This option is the most abstract and reflects that more of an actual icon for Bardsley. With this we wanted to take the B & I initials and form it into a great icon that looked cool, progressive and refreshing. When I was researching for this concept I really wanted the logo to have a lot of theory dug into it and to utilize the positive and negative space to really make it a collaborative icon.

In research phase, my mind kept coming back to Bardsley’s mineral investments. While there isn’t investment in diamonds, we felt like a subordinate usage of a diamond shape in the center of the logo would subliminally symbolize the purity of investment in pure minerals. We wanted to have paths join together in the center of the logo to indicate as well the attachment to the main corporation (Bardsley Investment, Inc.) While option 1′s focus is more on the B and Bardsley, with this option we wanted to explore the focus on the initial “I” as it ultimately is an investment company that the branding is for. If you’ll notice in the grayscale version, what once was an abstract “I”, has been split via color/value to indicate the first initial “B” as a mirror image also reflecting (no pun intended) the purity of the minerals and their ability to be an unending resource.

While this logo emphasizes the conceptual importance of Bardsley’s mineral investments, we tried to give it an architectural look as well so it could meld into the furniture and real estate genre as well which were both mentions from the initial brief from the client. I could see this logo being “broken” into pieces or re-composed for all the underlying investments that live under the Bardsley name, it could get quite interesting when you start to look at the unit on different angles and planes.

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This logo was from our base branding package : Logo Design/Freshen Up. We work solely on designing a beautiful and conceptual logo for our client which includes rights to the final design, all logo working files for the final logo selected and a color scheme style guide. Design work includes 3 concepts presented, with 3 rounds of revisions. For businesses on a tight budget or just getting started, this is a great way to get things going without breaking the bank. For more info on this or our other branding packages then get an estimate. We’d love to talk to you about your vision for your company and help you make it a reality!

Polly is an amazing photographer across the pond who last summer approached us to help print and design her business correspondence pieces for her wedding branch of the business. We worked on flat 4Bar notes with printed envelopes, business cards, and tags for packaging her product for her clients. Polly supplied the logo and we got to work on her proofs and printed pieces.

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Letterpress printed on 110# cotton paper with a pantone match and blind impression these pieces were sized at 3.5×5″ for the 4Bar note and envelope, 2.5×2.5″ for the tags, and 2×3.5″ for her business cards. If you are interested in design or print services to help you extend your brand then get an estimate here. We’d love to work with you!

Scheming seems like such an appropriate word when working with color on a client’s logo or branding. There are so many elements of color to be considered – personality, hue, tonality, emotion, do you feel that colors are more than paint on a page? I know I feel a sort of psychological connection to color. Yellow for a long time was a color I despised. I hated its flaming cheeriness (I used to be SO serious). Now look at me – I scream yellow! While brands should reflect more than just something you like or a fad of the moment, there should be some personal attraction to it. A lot of times branding has to grow up. I see many brands start with an unhealthy amount of color (think of rainbow suckers) and then over time neutralize to become more sophisticated. Some …

Hello! I feel like I’m back from the dead! I’ll spare you the gory and boring details and save it for business Friday. For now, it’s back to blogging and FINALLY back to work! You may remember Stephanie’s RI proofs for a branding project that I blogged about here. Part of making a brand work for a business is being able to expand it from the logo into the rest of the business collateral, be it business cards, packaging, promo pieces or website – how you extend your logo into an identity of yourself and brand extension of the initial concept will help make your business stand out from your competition. In Stephanie’s case it was extending her branding into business cards (her website is an awesome execution of brand extension as well). When working on Stephanie’s design for business cards she …

You may remember a few days back the logo variations we explored for Josh. Below is the finalized style guide for the branding we did for him. Upon completion of our branding package, we like to put together a style guide indicating pantone suggestions, RGB Hex #s for web matching, typographic notations for continued use on alternate business collateral and some pattern samples on extending the brand. In addition to the style guide, upon establishing the brand look, we can also apply the brand elements across to other pieces such as business cards, letterhead, notes, product tags and labels, and more. Part of establishing a style guide is to help grow the brand equity, especially when its a new brand. By establishing color harmony and typographic suggestions, we help that brand (and the people doing the every day stuff behind it) to …

As humans we all have off days. Here was a reject day. I worked on these among many other concepts and was really hitting a brick wall. Some of the rejections. Yes I’m glad we’ve moved on from this. I can’t wait to show you the final branding down the road!!!!

Remember the Jones & Vandermeer RI Proofs and the RII & III proofs? Well we’ve been working on some product tags for her beautiful mink yarn! Below was the first round presented. These will be offset printed 4/4 and punched with a 1/8″ hole for attachment.

We’ve been working with Sade from Bridal Couture Closet on her business cards, layout and some additional elements for business correspondence. Some of which include letterpress business cards, an email signature, product tags, labels, and now letterhead. These are half-sheeted letterhead (5.5×8.5″) paired with A6 envelopes. Letterpress printed on a text weight paper, in chocolate brown. I need to add this to my to-do list of things to get done before NSS for Dingbat Press. I have to say, I’m so used to printing thick papers on the windmill, these threw me for a loop being a thinner sheet. It wanted to suck up like 10 at a time. Finally after trying a lot of different solutions, I opened up the knoby in the back to let more air out before it pumps through the press. Magic!! Heading out to do a …

I have to say, I LOVE my clients. Anna & Jason were no exception. I’ve been working on their branding, blog design and business cards during the 3rd quarter of 2010 and am finally getting around to blogging about the finished letterpress printed piece. Below are some of the explorations from their branding package regarding logo alternates, business card layouts and condensed exploration of their initials. Anna & Jason were looking for refined, minimalist and something with a pop of color. Their style was amazing, and designing for them was challenging and rewarding. Every time I felt stumped, we’d have a phone call and get down to business regarding where design was going and what tweaks needed to be made. In the end I’m really proud to say that this is another of my favorites. Letterpress printed business cards – 2/2. I …